WORLD BRIEFING / MIDDLE EAST

Israelis reportedly deface mosque

Jewish settlers spray-painted a mosque with graffiti slurring the prophet Muhammad and defaced a Muslim cemetery in the West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli military officials said.

Israeli security forces quickly removed the graffiti and were cleaning the cemetery, the army said.

The mosque stands next to a building that has become a center of tension between settlers and Palestinians. Settlers say they bought the building from a Palestinian, but the Palestinian says they didn't.

Settlers inside the building have ignored an order from Israel's Supreme Court to leave.